Teen undergoes risky surgery to save his hearing

Teen: I've had too much experience with this

Published 12:03 AM EST Feb 21, 2013

CINCINNATI -

Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center spent hours Wednesday working to make sure a musician doesn’t lose his hearing.

Nathan McCallon, 15, is a regular music man, playing tuba in four different bands at Holmes High School. He's also taught himself just about every other brass instrument, but to say he has a good ear couldn’t be further from the truth.

McCallon started with tubes in both ears and a ruptured left eardrum as a child, but what brought him to the hospital's surgery wing was a tumor-like cyst growing behind his right eardrum, which is threatening his hearing.

"I've had too much experience with this," McCallon said.

Dr. Ravi Samy, an otolaryngology surgeon, specializes in removing the so-called cholesteatomas, and he said getting to them early is the key.

"The worst-case scenario, if he wasn’t following up on this for the long run, (includes) everything from brain abscess to meningitis," said Samy.

Samy said the cyst grows near the facial nerve, and there is also another risk that could have serious consequences for the young musician.

"As you're moving it, it can get into the cochlea or inner ear, or you, as a surgeon, can get it to the cochlea, and that risks deafness," Samy said.

McCallon said it doesn’t scare him.

"The doctor said it's going to constantly come back, whether it be 10 years or 50 years, but if they can get rid of it and it doesn’t come back for a while, I'll be happy with that," said McCallon.

McCallon is hopeful that any hearing loss he has as a result of the surgery is temporary. However, if his hearing is gone for good, the teen's father said they could still get a cochlear implant or a hearing aid.

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